A COMPANY vice-president, accused of being rude, aggressive and unprofessional to customers, has mounted a High Court challenge to her suspension pending what she described as a potentially biased inquiry by her employer.

Adaptive Mobile Security, a Dublin-headquartered company that specialises in mobile phone technology, told the High Court yesterday it would take no further steps relating to the suspension on full pay of Kathryn Smith, its operations vice-president.

Oisín Quinn SC, for Ms Smith, said she had been suspended on July 26th last and told by the company’s chief executive Brian Collins that he would conduct an inquiry into complaints she had been rude to two customers.

Mr Quinn told Mr Justice Seán Ryan that Ms Smith felt Mr Collins was motivated by ill will against her. They had a bad relationship from his arrival in the company in 2009, a relationship which had become “poisonous” in 2011.

Mr Quinn said the company had become involved in work with the state mobile phone company in Iran. When it was found that its technology was being used to track dissidents, Mr Collins had claimed the Iran link had not been his decision and “had passed it off on Ms Smith”.

She had questioned him about business matters and he had taken exception to this. He had told her there had been complaints from customers that she had been rude, aggressive and unprofessional in her dealings with them.

Mr Quinn told the court that Mr Collins had told Ms Smith he would be investigating the complaints. Mr Quinn suggested that Mr Collins was the least appropriate person to be investigating any complaints about her.

Frances Meenan, for the company, said Mr Collins would be investigating only questions of fact. She said Ms Smith had been asked to attend a number of meetings with Mr Collins to discuss the complaints against her and she had declined to attend, including a noon meeting yesterday while the court was sitting.

Mr Justice Ryan adjourned the matter until September 26th.